Air conditioning apparatus



Aug., 11, 1936. 0. SMITH 2,050,470

7 AIR CONDITIONING APPARATUS Filed Sept. 6, 1955 INVENTOR Patented Aug. 11, 1936 UNITED STATES F Fi PATEN,

AIR CONDITIONING APPARATUS Leonard C. Smith, New York, N. Y., assignor to Heating Ventilating & Air Conditioning Co. Inc., New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York I Application September 6, 1935, Serial No. 39,401

6 Claims.

upper part of which I provide conditioning plates 2 and 3 which, for example, may be of corrugated sheet metal spaced a short distance from each other and wound or bent in the form of a spiral as shown in Fig. 2, the plates extending from a floor 4 in the casing I some distance below the top of the casing to a point adjacent the top of the casing. A pipe 5 is coiled within the space between the plates 2 and 3 and is provided for the circulation of a conditioning medium through the space provided by the spacing of the con-- ditioning plates. The pipe 5 is continuous, as will be understood, and the number of turns or convolutions will depend, of course, upon the capacity of the machine. The spaces 6 or spiral passageways between the convolutions provided by the conditioning plates 2 and 3 are for the circulation of air, air from an outside source or from an adjacent part of the room, as may be desired, being drawn into the apparatus by an exhaust fan 'I.

In the illustration shown inthe accompanying drawing the casing I is provided with an air intake conduit 8 leadin for example, to an open window 9 and the exhaust fan I will, as will be obvious, draw air through the window 9, conduit B and through the spaces 6 from the outside of the spiral to the center and from thence up through the central passageway I and out through the top of the apparatus at I and I2 to the room or other enclosure, the air in which is -to be conditioned. If desired a removable f lter I3 can be provided for filtering the air as it enters the casing I. Air is also drawn by the exhaust fan '1 into the casing I through openings I4 in the casing wall and this air is filtered also by a removable filter I5. To reduce the speed of the air through the passageway 6 between the convolutions of the conditioning plates 2 and 3 baffle plates I6 may be provided in these spaces.

In the lower part of the casing I. I mount a frame I! which supports a motor I8, This motor is mounted in a vertical position just below the floor 4 above referred to and the upper end of its armature shaft I9 is coupled to the shaft 20 of the exhaust fan I. Adjacent the lower end of the frame II and supported by this frame is a rotary compressor designated 2|, this compressor being driven by the motor I8 the lower end of the armature shaft of which is coupled to the compressor, as diagrammatically illustrated in the drawing.

A short distance above the compressor I a partition 22 is provided within the casing I, this partition being provided centrally with an opening for the accommodation of a fan 23 mounted on the armature shaft of the motor Hi just above the compressor. The compressor 2| is for the purpose of supplying a conditioning medium,

such as a refrigerant, to the pipe above referred to, and for this purpose a tank 24 is mounted within the casing I. adjacentthe compressor 2| with which it communicates by means of a pipe 25. A pipe 26 extends from the upper end of this tank 24 upwardly through the space between the partition 22 and floor 4 where it is coupled to a condensing coil 21 Which is mounted in this space, the lower end of the condenser being coupled to a pipe 28 extending into the upper end of a tank 29 within the casing I at the side of the compressor 2| opposite the tank 24.

The lower end of the tank 24 is connected by a pipe 30 to the lower end of the compressor 2|, permitting circulation of oil. in a closedcircuit from the compressor, through pipe 25, lower part of tank 24 back to the compressor. Any oil that happens to be carried up through the pipe 26 and through the condenser will collect in the bottom of the tank 29, where it may be drained off through valve 3|.

. The intake end of the conditioning pipe 5 in the upper part of the apparatus is connected to a pipe 32 which extends downwardly within the casing into the tank 29, terminating short of the bottom of said tank. The discharge end of'the pipe v5 extends downwardly within the casing I and enters the intake side of the compressor 2| as shown at 33. The connection between the intake end of the conditioning pipe 5 and the pipe 32 is provided with an expansion valve 34.

The casing Iin addition to the conduit 8 above mentioned is provided with a conduit 35 which communicates with the space 38 within the casing I lying between the partition 22 and floor '4. Also the casing I is provided with a conduit 31 communicating with the space 38 lying between the partition 22 and the bottom of the casing. With my improved apparatus in operation conditioning fluid in the form of a gas under pressure is charged into the apparatus and with the compressor 2| in operation this gas will be further compressed and will pass from the discharge side of the compressor by way of pipe 25 to tank 24 and from thence by way of pipe 26 through the condenser 21 where it Will condense into a liquid, the liquid entering the tank 29 through the pipe 28, and assuming that the expansion valve 34 is open, this liquid under pressure will be forced out of tank 29 upwardly through the pipe 32 and past the expansion valve 34, entering the intake end of the pipe 5 in the form of a vapor, circulating through the pipe 5 and returning to the intake side of the compressor 2| at 33 where it again goes through the same cycle. As the conditioning material passes the expansion valve 34 as it enters the intake end of the conditioning pipe 5 its temperature drops, as will be understood, to effect a lowering of the temperature of the plates 2 and 3 with a consequent reduction in temperature of the air sweeping along the outer surfaces of these plates 2 and 3 by the action of the exhaust fan 1 so that cooled air is discharged into the surrounding atmosphere through the discharge openings H and It.

It is to be noted also that the fan 23 will at all times function to draw fresh air across the compressor 2| and tanks 24 and 28 through the conduit 31 and discharge this air into the space 36 between the partition 22 and floor 4 from which it is discharged into the atmosphere as, for example, out through the open window 9 through the conduit 35. This insures that the conditioning equipment comprising the motor l8, compressor 2|, condenser 21, etc. will be air cooled at all times.

The expansion valve 34 in practice will be automatically controlled by a thermostat (not shown) which may be mounted immediately at the apparatus or at any convenient location in the room or enclosure the air of which is to be conditioned.

It will be appreciated from all of the foregoing that the present invention provides an extremely simple rugged and relatively inexpensive equipment involving very few moving parts for use in air conditioning. It will be seen that the equipment can be moved from place to place with ease, the casing I being provided with rollers 39 for this purpose.

It is to be understood that while I have illus-- trated the apparatus as connected to the window 9, for example, whereby a supply of fresh air is being drawn through the apparatus, this is by way of example or illustration because so far as cooling of the air in a room or other enclosure is concerned only the air within the room or other enclosure need be circulated through the apparatus.

It will be understood also that the conditioning fluid may be any suitable refrigerant, for example,-such as sulphur dioxide or other well known material of which there are many commercially available.

It is to be understood that changes may be made in the details of construction and arrangement of parts herein illustrated without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention.

What I claim is:-

1. Air conditioning apparatus comprising in combination an enclosing casing provided at its upper end with a chamber, air inlets and outlets for said chamber, a fan for drawing air into said chamber and discharging the same therefrom, a

- intermediate chamber.

lower chamber in said casing, a compressor mounted in said last mentioned chamber, an air intake for said last mentioned chamber, an intermediate chamber between the two first mentioned chambers, an air outlet therefrom, a motor in said intermediate chamber, said fan being connected to the armature shaft of said motor, said motor driving said compressor, a second fan on the armature shaft of said motor disposed in the wall separating the lower and intermediate chambers for drawing air into the lower chamber and discharging it to the exterior of said casing through said intermediate chamber.

2. Air conditioning apparatus comprising in combination a casing divided into an upper 1 chamber, a lower chamber and an intermediate chamber, a motor in said intermediate chamber, a compressor in said lower chamber, said motor and compressor being resiliently mounted in said casing, the armature shaft of said mo- 3. Air conditioning apparatus comprising in combination an enclosing casing provided with an upper chamber, a lower chamber and an intermediate chamber, a motor in said intermediate chamber, spirally wound plates in said upper chamber spaced from each other to provide a passageway for air to be conditioned, a fan in said upper chamber driven by said motor, said fan drawing air into the casing from the exterior thereof, circulating the same along said air passageway and discharging the same from the casing, a compressor in the lower chamber, a condenser in said intermediate chamber connected to said compressor for the compressing and condensing of a conditioning fluid, means for releasing said condensed fluid into the first mentioned chamber for circulation therethrough in heat exchange relation to the air circulated through said first mentioned chamber, said motor, compressor and condenser being resiliently mounted, and a fan in the wall separating the lower chamber from the intermediate chamber for drawing air from the exterior of the casing into said lower chamber and discharging the same to the exterior of the casing out of said 4. Air conditioning apparatus comprising in combination an enclosing casing provided at its upper end with a chamber, a fan for drawing air into said chamber and discharging the same therefrom, a compressor and a motor in said casing below said chamber and disposed in vertical alignment with each other, said fan being mounted on the armature shaft of said motor, said armature shaft being coupled to said compressor to drive the same, and a second fan mounted on the armature shaft of said motor for drawing air into the lower part of said casing and discharging it therefrom.

5. Air conditioning apparatus comprising in combination an enclosing casing provided at its upper end with a chamber, a fan for drawing air into said chamber and discharging the same therefrom, a compressor, a condenser and a motor in the casing below said chamber and dis- 7 posed in vertical alignment, said compressor and condenser supplying conditioning fluid to the said chamber, the armature shaft of said motor being ber for the intake of the air adjacent the'casing, a second intake, a conduit for connecting said second intake to an outside air source, a

condenser, motor and compressor in said casing below said chamber for supplying a conditioning fluid to the chamber, said condenser, motor and compressor being arranged in vertical alignment, a fan in said chamber mounted on the armature shaft of the motor for drawing air into said chamber and discharging it therefrom, a conduit for conducting air from an outside source to the lower part of said casing, a conduit for conducting the air after circulation about the compressor, motor and condenser to said outside source, and a fan on the motor armature shaft for efiecting the said movement of the air.

LEONARD 0. SMITH. 

